Ghana Budget: Special Prosecutor office to receive funds to function

The Office of the Special Prosecutor is set to benefit tremendously from the 2019 budgetary allocations that will be announced by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

A letter from the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, in which he expressed appreciation to the finance minister for an apparent pledge for a budgetary allocation in the 2019 budget.

“I have noted with sincere appreciation and gratitude the content of your letter and decision you made in respect of this Office for 2019 in spite of the very tight financial circumstances you inherited and which you are managing judiciously for the national good,” the letter said.

The letter sighted is coming after months of lamentations from the Special Prosecutor about financial resource constraints in running the anti-corruption office.

Recently, Martin Amidu in one of his articles titled “The Whitaker scenario – Stiffling independent investigative agency of funds” reiterated the need to resource his office.

But Martin Amidu, in the letter said, “The Office of the Special Prosecutor appreciates efforts of His Excellency the President and your good self in supporting this Office to be able to establish and operationalize to the best international standard to decrease the incentive and increase to the highest level the risk for corruption towards the attainment of the agreed national anti-corruption vision for our dear country,” Martin Amidu indicated in the letter.

Many have called on the Special Prosecutor to resign from the office since his office has been deprived of funds to enable it to run effectively.

But Martin Amidu’s letter suggests that the expected allocation will partially solve some of the pressing financial, accommodation and logistical needs that impeded his office’s work.

“It is my determination to build and equip this Office with such capabilities and infrastructure as will enable it to execute its mandate successfully and recover such assets as are the fruits of corruption that may more than payback to the national purse any budgetary allocations you could eventually make for establishment and operations of this Office,” the letter also said.

It is not clear yet how much the office will be getting from the allocation.